OFFLINE vs ONLINE

 Would Online Learning Method Overpower the Ancient Method?

On the 4^th of January, 2021, the Jyoti Nivas Autonomous College reopened after a long period of 9 months following the Protocols due to the COVID-19 restrain. The college had remained closed during the lockdown. Meanwhile, during the curfew, the college conducted online classes using the MS Teams platform. The college has taken all the measures to keep the environment virus-free by conducting regular COVID-19 tests for the students as well as for the teachers in the Amphitheatre, the students are monitored by the teaching and non-teaching staffs, and alcohol hand sanitizer stands installed in every corridor of the college. The students from the Media Department interviewed the members of the college on their opinions on on-campus classes after a long-time gap.

Mrs. Nitu Thakur, from the English Department, felt that nothing could take over the ancient teaching-learning method and also that it is very essential to have this kind of system rather than an online method. “Teaching-learning process cannot compensate the primitive method with the online mode. Online classes may be a temporary solution but never a permanent mode of teaching. It is not only the teaching and learning process but it involves students and teachers from a poor background who cannot afford gadgets, so I would prioritize offline classes over online classes” said Mrs. Nitu Thakur.

Yuthika, from II BA. PSJCE said “Offline classes are fun, but being back to college amidst the COVID-19 situation is quite scary. Offline classes bring more life to learning, but in the online mode, it is very difficult to concentrate no matter how hard we try. Online classes were a drastic change for us, but by the time we were adjusting to this massive change we are back to campus. One thing I like about online classes is it was time efficient and we did not have to do work which we actually do at college. The whole vibe of the college life was lost at the same time while attending online classes.”

Online classes have dominated the education system during the Covid-19 pandemic. Although both the factions have its own advantages, there is always the demerits followed by it. For instance, in the offline system, the teacher-student interaction is more and the students get to learn more and the teachers get to teach more, whereas in the online system the teacher-student interaction and the time span for the teaching session were limited. But as of now, the number of Covid-19 cases has been increasing at a high speed, thus it is advisable to take online classes into consideration, as it can be a prevention step for the spread of the virus.